Anti-roll stay for waistbands of girdles and like articles of apparel



July 13, 1965 A. MARcHlsELLA 3,194,242

ANTI-ROLL STAY FOR WAISTBANDS OF GIRDLES AND LIKE ARTICLES OF APPAREL Filed 0G13. 11, 1963 'l INVENTOR /MaP/co Maffay/sam United States Patent 3,194,242 ANTI-ROLL STAY FOR WAISTBANDS F GmDLES AND LIKE ARTICLES 0F APPAREL Americo Marchisella, Rago Foundations, Inc., 18-15 27th Ave., Long Island City, NX. Filed Oct. 11, 1963, Ser. No. 315,498

9 Claims. (Cl. 12S-533) It is a common and well recognized problem which isv particularly laggravating in the womens undergarment industry, that the upper edges of such apparel tend to turn, roll over or twist while in use in a manner which is both unattractive and uncomfortable to the wearer. This problem is magnified in garments which arepartiallyor wholly elastic and snugly lit the torso of the wearer in order to shape or constrainthe form of the body. The upper orA waist edges of such articles, since they Iconstitute a marginal portion of a flexible and usually resilient material, obtain the least support from the remaining structure of the garment and so can be forced out of shape most easily. In cases where the wearer has an excess of fatty esh on her body, the upper edges have the function of supporting a weight and volume which overtaxes their strength. When engirdled by a tightly fitting garment, the excessive outer avoirdupois on the waist is often forced upward so as to overhang and to weigh upon the upper lead-ing edge of such an article, tending to overturn and displace these upper edges, again contributing to their poor appearance.

Further, articles of wear such as girdles often lose some of their strength after several washings so that while in a sense not worn out or excessively used, the article loses, at least at its upper edge, its normal form-maintaining ability long before the article needs otherwise to be discarded.V

To prevent the rolling, turning or other distortion of the upper edges of such articles it is desired to present a new and improved stay that in a novel manner stiffens these areas against rolling, distributes the excessive strain placed on the upper edges of such garments, and adds to the useful life of these articles by reinforcing their structures.

To this end, spaced circumferentially extend-ing stays constructed in accordance with the present invention are seated within a fabric tunnel adjacent the waistline of and parallel to the upper edge of the article, one stay being situated at each iiank of the wearer. That is, the stays lie in a horizontal plane and, when the garment is worn, are constrained bythe tunnel that at this time encircles the waist to define the vertices of an ellipse which circumscribes the waist of the wearer. Both stays thereby assume a significant degree of outwardly convex curvature, i.e. bowing, which consequently prevents the waistband of the garment to which they are attached from rolling since for the thusly stayed garment to roll one or both ends of a stay would have to be tilted out of the tunnel.

It is another important object of my invention to provide an anti-roll 'stay of the character described which stiffens the portion of the article to which it is attached' and which byvirtue of the location of a pair of stays on diametrically opposed locations on the girdle serves as a "ice handle, one on each side of the garment, to .aid in donning the garment. The stays make marginal portions of the garment more firm and thereby provide convenient grips for the hands of the wearer while pulling on the garment. The stress in the girdle material caused by stretching it over the hips is distributed by the stays over a large portion of the marginal area of the garment.

It is yet a further object of the invention to provide an anti-roll stay of the character described which will with a mild degree of pressure tend to spring radially outwardly about a point centered on the flank of the wearer and which will therefore moderate pressure at the tips of the stay located in the softer and more sensitive areas around the wearers waist. Although the lessening of pressure on the abdomen and back will increase the pressure at the hip of the wearer, this latter pressure is more readily sustained in a comfortable manner by the human body.

These and various other objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent to the reader in the following description.

My invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements and arrangements of parts which will be exemplified in the form constraining undergarments hereinafter described and of which the scope of application will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings in which are shown two of the various possible embodiments of my invention,

FIG. 1 is a left-side perspective View of a girdle with stays captured within its waistband, the stays being illustrated in dash lines;

FIG. 2 is a greatly enlarged fragmentary and partially broken away view of the stay in a tunnel at the girdle waistband;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged transverse cross-sectional view taken substantially along the line 3--3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a top plan schematic view of the upper edge of the girdle showing the position of the stays; and

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but showing a second embodiment of my invention.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, the reference numeral it) denotes a stay constructed and mounted on an article of womens underclothing in accordano with my invention. The stay is made from a flexible resilient material which is suiciently thick to require at least a few ounces o f pressure applied to the ends of the stay to significantly flex the same. Polyethylene, a resilient butadiene modified polystyrene, whalebone, springfsteel and similar materials have been found entirely suitable for this purpose. The stay 10 is preferably dat and is elongated, and desirably has its end edges or tips 12 rounded so that no sharp points or corners are present to damage the material from which the garment is made. By way of example, suitable dimensions for the stay are about 6 to 112 inches in length, about 1/2 to l inch in width, and about 1A@ to V16 of an inch in thickness. The stay is springy and has a resiliency and will, in a situation of repose, assume a normally flat elongated non-curved (linear) condition, but yet upon slight force will conform to another desired, curved shape. It should be noted that at this point that such stays are, as thus far described, entirely conventional.

It is a characteristic of such stays that in an unbent form they have two flex axes, the first being about a vertical axis parallel to the plane in which the width (height in the drawings) of the stay lies and transverse to the length of the stay. That is to say, the stays dex in a manner to define a severer or milder curvature as their ends move toward and away from one another (compare FIGS. 2 and 5). The second axis is a longitudinal or torsion axis and also lies in the plane of the Width of the Y stay but along the lengthV ofthe stay. The stay canrthusY twist on itself with one end "moving, say clockwise, and

the other end moving counter-clockwisej;

The stay due toits great length compared` with itsV relatively smallwidth will flex vmore readily about its rstnamed axis and, as will shortly -be seen,v this characteristic isi employed by thezpresent invention to enhance the` antiroll quality ofthe stay;

- YThe stay may'have'a feathered symmetricalv construe-z tion, with the thickness of its upper edge 14 Jand lower,

edge ld'taperingjaway ifrorn. its mid-thickness-`` (See FIG. 3.) :i In other words, the upper and lower edges ofA f the I stay are` narrower. *inV cross-Section` than its Vmiddle j thickness.; Thisjcongura'tionshas Vsuiicient thickness to f inhbitfilexing of the stay about its torsion axis while the` featheredV edges'14, 16 useless material so .as to maintain j.

`the lightweight of :the stay. The feathered shape of the edges helps them blend in and so not protrude from theirl fabric housing.V Y i Y Y The )stayv is captivelysecuredgto the waistband 180i ``a Y girdle or like article of wearingapparel. The girdle 2t? towhich my stay: 10" is attachedis conventionalvand,`

as isr usuaLShas circurnferentiallyV elasticfront and back'l f panels E, and, optionally, one or more non-elasticrpanels N, and it is contemplated that such staysrnay.` also4 be applied to any' Vconstrictivelyl ensheathing article; of'ap- 'i parel with an at least partially circumferentially:elastic waistband,-such :as panties, garterbeltsg'slacks with upper pants, etc. Any article of clothing which experience l,has

of its waistbanad area, Vtend to present invention. n

., A pair of stays islocatedvon'the waistband 18 of the roll i may beneiit t from'v the K girdle 20 so that one stay is situated on eachflank ofthe Y wearer. The center of the'stayis located approximately;` at 1 the midpointjofthetlank'area5 i.e. Iatea point at whichga' linerdrawn vertically downward from the shoulder ofthe r wearer; would intersect an ,ellipse youtlining her waist. Each stay'extends in arcircumferential direction substan-gl tially equidistantly from thisV center point toward vrthe Y Y Y Y' 4?, tion(V The tunnelisnarrow s ment'of the say 10 Lthereirni` The stays are securedl inthe `tunnel and to thegalrrnent" by mechanical anchoring means iso :that eachlstay ,willV remain at a diierent flank ofgthegarment. i In--the'illusry Y .Y

, trated embodiment a verticalgbar tack Vlmfis sewn directly" Y j through therstay 10 and into the binding 24, it beingunderf' stood` thatin'f'lthis' instance the jstay yis'forrnedifrom i a plastic,` eig. polyethylene or other; material ,which will per-fmit such stitching. The `b ar tack X'es thelongitudinal.

centrfot the flank` Ina secondembodiinentof myinveritin;thefstay10'V has a preformedlaperture 318VV disposed longitudinally cen-V 'trally otthestay Stitching-40 passesythroughgthe" apen.

Y ture 38 both VVupwardly Vanddownvvarglly; over portions of the stay andfthenrinto'jthe bindirigZft."Y In 1316.55, there waistband 18 isillustrateddn,a-diatposition Of repose.:v

Velastic edges,- trunks of two piecebathing suitsyfstretch Y demonstrated will, due to 'the elasticor'engirdling nature f j front and back ofthe/wearer,*eachhalf of the stay prefer ablybeing of similar length.-Y The tips llof the stays terminate at points short of 'the :front and Iearcenterv lines of the wearer: That-isgthetips ofthej stays dojnotVVV touch onel another but rather provide a definite andsubV stantial interruption -where they approach one anotherboth `at the front and rear of the waistband 18A of the girdle 2G. f Eachstay thereforehas a shapecorresponding to ani endsectionof` an ellipse at a vertex-thereof.

' Y Each `-stay 10 is captivelyrheld infan elasticjfabricat` oriented'stays'.

in their most useful g position atlthe iiianksio Since :the stays `1() are' oflastifer Ymateriali.than of' Which the.' girdle is madeaindV 'furtherfsincer they are disposed iwithftheir longitudinal` axes;.kldsprose'd:fcircurnjl fr fderentially fof the girdle, they serve asfcenvenientfhandles, y 1

by whichrthe girdle maybe gripped andsby which it mayV V thereafter be .pulled upward ,over the thips of the wearer.V

tunnel 22 formed onthe'rvwaistband 18 of the; girdle20: The: tunnel is` preferablyfconstructed `of-"elastic` material;4 a

vThe tunnel 22vrnay lbe continuousaroundrthe` entire` cirl c urnference of the waistband 18 or it may be terminated at points distant fromthe-ftips 12pt the stays 10. Y

Y The tunnel 2,2,V is formed ill-part by an elastic binding- 24 which'is continuous around the waistbandeltl,"andj` which is stitched to an upper'margin 26.` of the waistband.:

The marginZtSfhas'afree edge28 which is turned over iny wardlyl on itself to present an attractive and finished Vlcfoking fold 30.1 The bindingr 2 4 is sewn flat to the margin- 26 so that onevrowof stitching 132 passes throughftheupper edge `offthebinding 24 and into thel free edge ZSfjand so that another parallel row ofystithing 34 passes through? the lower edge Vof the binding -24 -andfinto'janiadjacent: area of the margin 26. The' binding '241cove`rs therawv edgeof the garment so as to presenta neatappearance 'in' The Vstitlnesspofrrthe. staysjrpresentsfrm :areasl ofthe girdle@YV that may Vbe Aheld: byV the wearer, andv thelengtlrv of the; stays distributes thestreSS'placed thereonrzvoverfa large; portion ofthewaistband 18.? This prevents unduerippingE of the; girdlemateriaLeitherby fthe: fingers of` `a." wonian-r poking through the girdle'material'orfby;highflocallstress 1Q Von the material. A v f `The stays 1t); duetoxtheir natural resiliencygjare biased frorntheir curved positiontowardvtheirgatrposition in'v repose;v T hehalves of eachfstay attempt tQsvviri'g radially n Voutwardly about thegpoint-atwhich )they lare,attachedtof` the girdle 2tl,ii.e., thestitchingfor 40). Thfis' tendency of the tips` relieves the lpressure irrorrithe girdle `20 against the-back and abdomen of the wearer (FIGA, arrow A) f Y and places additional pressure against thegflankg'of ,the..y Vwearer (FIG. 4,1arrow B? where it can-be borne more' comfortably.

It thus-will beseenjhat I have' provideddeviceslwhich'I Y achieve 'the severalfobjects vfof, vmypinvention and which'.

Y areY well adapted ',tqmeet; the conditions of, practical; use.

ofthe vtunnel 22 ,issuch that vit snugly captures the stays wrthat is' to'say, the tunnel'is of a height Vsrn'allcnough: to inhibit movenient'in:averticraldirection of `thestays andj yet 'large enough to lallowleaseof entryof the stays during f As. various possible embodiments vmight-tbe made; ,ofVA the abeve{invention}.and as: ,various changes niightbe-,z 'Y Y rnadeingtheembodiments*laboveset'forthQitfis'to be..j Y understood that all matter'hereindescribed' or showriin f Y y the accompanying' drawingsisftbe interpreted as illus-f trativeA and V.not ina limiting sensei i' Having .thas `described; my, r11-vertraagt 'ernia -as'anw Y and *desire to secureby'Letters-Ptents assembly;,lhevroundedltips 12 off the staysaid in the; Y

insertion"othestayslintothe'tunnelito their proper loca- .1. In conibinationfwithla' garment ,having a ,co'n'strictive i upper margin' at `theV waist, a.V Vhorizontalcircumferential` ieXible tnnelsecure'd to` the garment*adjacent'itsupperl1 so Yas'to preventv radial move-vY If` the; garment' is stretched -in any directienjthetripsy 12 `of the. stays v'-10 merely move forwardlyorrrearwardly VV completely within fthetunnel-ZZ and thereby .do Vnot abut t and cannot catcha'gainst; anyrsurface; 4,lliestays 10,ofA s course, `are, prevented fromfshiftinggand are-.,maintained g the wearer.A 1 y by .the stitching atrtheirlcenter; although'theggirdlm as well asfthe tunnel22,V may fstretch'considerably. h, n t at margin, a Hat continuous solid normally flat thin ilexible resilient stay of substantially rectangular transverse crosssection and formed from sheet material, said stay being located in said tunnel and having its length elongated circumferentially of the upper margin of the garment, said length being substantially greater than the height of the stay and said height being substantially greater than the thickness of the stay, said stay having its length extending a substantial distance on either side of the flank toward but terminating short of the front and rear centers of the garment, and means anchoring the stay within the tunnel and in a position spanning the flank area of the garment so that when the garment is donned the stay assumes a substantial curvature around the flank whereby to inhibit the margin from rolling.

2. A combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein the tunnel is `continuous around the margin and wherein two diametrically opposed stays of like length are provided, each spanning a different flank area.

3. A combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein two diametrically opposed stays of like length are provided, each spanning a different ank area.

4. A combination as set forth in claim 3 wherein the anchoring means includes stitching sewn directly through the centers of the stays and into adjacent portions of the garment.

5. A combination as set forth in claim 3 wherein each stay has a preformed aperture and wherein the anchoring means includes stitching sewn around the stays, through the apertures and into adjacent portions of the garment.

6. A combination as set forth in claim 3 wherein the tunnel is narrow and of a height substantially the same as the height of the stays so that the tunnel snugly receives the stays.

7. A combination as set forth in claim 3 wherein the stay has a transverse symmetrically feathered construction, the top and bottom edges of each stay being narrower in cross-section than the middle portion of the stays.

8. A combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein two diametrically opposed stays 0f like length are provided, each spanning a different flank area, and wherein the anchoring means xes the center of each stay to the center of a die'rent ank area of the garment.

9. A combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein the stay has a length of from about 6 inches to about l2 inches.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,474,190 1l/23 Fox 128-533 2,491,151 12/49 Becker 12S-465 2,774,073 12/ 5 6 Herbener 128-5 67 ADELE M. EAGER, Primary Examiner. 

1. IN COMBINATION WITH A GARMENT HAVING A CONSTRICTIVE UPPER MARGIN AT THE WAIST, A HORIZONTAL CIRCUMFERENTIAL FLEXIBLE TUNNEL SECURED TO THE GARMENT ADJACENT ITS UPPER MARGIN, A FLAT CONTINUOUS SOLID NORMALLY FLAT THIN FLEXIBLE RESILIENT STAY OF SUBSTANTIALLY RECTANGULAR TRANSVERSE CROSSSECTION AND FORMED FROM SHEET MATERIAL, SAID STAY BEING LOCATED IN SAID TUNNEL AND HAVING ITS LENGTH ELONGATED CIRCUMFERENTIALLY OF THE UPPER MARGIN OF THE GARMENT, SAID LENGTH BEING SUBSTANTIALLY GREATER THAN THE HEIGHT OF THE STAY AND SAID HEIGHT BEING SUBSTANTIALLY GREATER THAN THE THICKNESS OF THE STAY, SAID STAY HAVING ITS LENGTH EXTENDING A SUBSTANTIAL DISTANCE ON EITHER SIDE OF THE FLANK TOWARD BUT TERMINATING SHORT OF THE FRONT AND REAR CENTERS OF THE GARMENT, AND MEANS ANCHORING THE STAY WITHIN THE TUNNEL AND IN A POSITION SPANNING THE FLANK AREA OF THE GARMENT SO THAT WHEN THE GARMENT IS DONNED THE STAY ASSUMES A SUBSTANTIAL CURVATURE AROUND THE FLANK WHEREBY TO INHIBIT THE MARGIN FROM ROLLING. 